Duke Law professor Michael Tigar and more than 3,800 other academics have signed an online petition protesting what they call the "slander of Bill Ayers," a 1960s radical and current professor whose ties to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama have been a contentious matter in the presidential campaign.
"I think that the McCain campaign's desperate attempt to tag Sen. Obama with Ayers' conduct, back when Sen. Obama was 8 years old, is a discreditable attempt to divert attention from the serious issues we face," Tigar wrote in an e-mail.
The petition argues that Ayers-who in the 1960s co-founded the Weathermen, a group responsible for a series of nonfatal bombings in protest of the Vietnam War-deserves credit for his educational and civic contributions.
"He is today a respected teacher and author who focuses on reforming the educational system in constructive ways," Tigar said, noting that he has known Ayers for many years.
Other academics in the Triangle area are also supporting Ayers-today referred to as a "domestic terrorist" by critics-citing his academic contributions to progressive causes.
"Bill Ayers has been my colleague for over 20 years and before this all started he had already been elected to the highest position in [the] American Educational Research Association, so I'm not the only one who holds him in high esteem, which is what the petition shows," said Lynda Stone, a philosophy of education professor at the University of North Carolina School of Education. "He's worked in teacher education and curriculum studies. He's written many books and articles that have had an influence on the vision that teachers have."
Ayers faced federal charges for rioting and conspiracy in the 1970s but was never prosecuted. He has since worked as a education reformer and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, publishing 15 books and securing over $50 million in grants for Chicago schools.
For a time, Obama and Ayers lived in the same neighborhood in Chicago and worked on the same charity board for educational reform. In 1995, Ayers hosted a coffee meet-and-greet for Obama when he first ran for the Illinois Senate. Ayers also contributed $200 to Obama's re-election campaign in 2001.
The campaign for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has alleged that Obama has not been forward about his relationship with Ayers, circulating a mailer in North Carolina and other states that says Obama is "not who you think he is."
"Sen. Obama and Mr. Ayers know each other and have worked together in the past on several boards," N.C. Republican spokesperson Brent Woodcox said. "Sen. Obama has previously referred to Mr. Ayers as a friend. The relationship calls into questions both his judgment and his truthfulness with the American people."
Obama has denounced Ayers' past activities and denied any sort of close connection with him.
"Sen. Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost 40 years ago is ridiculous," Obama spokesperson Bill Burton said in a statement earlier this year.
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